YZF-R1: History 1998-2010

Nov 23, 2009

12 years of R1 History: an overview of all models, all colours

2009 R1: Engine with uneven firing order

Nov 19, 2008

“The ultimate cornering Master” was the key phrase in the development of the 2009 YZF-R1. Yamaha engineers took this challenge so serious that they developed a revolutionary new engine layout, with a ...

YZF-R6: Significant refinements for 2008

Nov 12, 2007

“After we had launched the fourth generation of the YZF-R6 in 2006, I was often asked, what would be next.” Takeshi Higuchi, responsible for Product Planning in Europe smiles as he continues: ”The ...

YZF-R125: Full size supersport

Nov 12, 2007

“We made the new YZF-R125 deliberately as a real sport bike and the similarity to its bigger sister the YZF-R6 is intentional, “ explains Hiroshi Komatsubara, President of Yamaha R&D development ...

YZF-R1: State Of The Art Race Technology

Jul 19, 2007

A decade ago, the YZF-R1 set new standards in the world of supersport bikes. Ever since the R1 has become an icon and embodies Yamaha’s racing DNA with the spirit of competition in every component. ...

The fifth generation R1: Precision Engineering

Jan 01, 2007

"We target expert skilled riders with the R1", says Product Planning division manager Takeshi Higuchi. "People who go on racetracks, and who have very high requirements towards riding dynamics."

New R6 2006

Feb 01, 2006

"The whole bike concept has become more racing orientated" mentions engineering Project Leader Makato Shimamoto. "We developed a brand new engine for a new performance level, and the engine defined ...

R6: New race-bred spec

Sep 01, 2004

'The modifications to the new R6 are entirely done for racing', says our European test rider who is a former racer himself. 'In those conditions, we really needed the bigger brake size, and for a ...

YZF-R1 Third generation: The real stuff

Sep 01, 2003

There has never been a bike running off Yamaha's production line, that had more influence from GP and World Superbike than the third generation R1.

R6 2003: State of the art in 600 cc supersport

Sep 01, 2002

"I believe that the new R6 represents the state of the art in 600 cc supersport technology", says Tony Maeda with a convincing expression on his face. As product planner at Yamaha Motor Europe ...

More about the 2003 R6: Voices from the development team

Sep 01, 2002

R1: A closer look at engineering details

Mar 01, 2002

The development priorities of the new R1 are handling and controllability. What are the engineering ingredients that make the bike faster in corners and at the same time even easier to handle?

R1 The world is a curve: Cornering that's what supersport is all about!

Sep 01, 2001

Nicknamed THE ONE, the second generation R1 focuses on what supersport excitement is all about: cornering, enjoyment of winding roads and racetrack.

R1 Customer survey report: Stunning differences between countries

Jul 01, 2001

The 2001 R1 survey, which we had on our website a few months ago proved a point: motorcyclists are really dedicated to their hobby and they are full of surprises. The interest in the questionnaire ...

R1 and R6: The top class supersport machines

Apr 01, 2001

R1 and R6 are Yamaha top class supersport machines. One could think, the 600 cc is just a smaller version of the 1000 cc version. That's wrong! Both bikes are entirely different!

R1- How it all started

Sep 01, 2000

It all started with a white sheet of paper at an informal meeting in the paddock building at Killarney circuit near Capetown in South Africa. The world’s best motorcycle journalists were just testing ...